wsnydes

I don't think anything happens to the FO. They were charged with rebuilding the entire organization and the Polhad's have always been patient owners, so I don't see the FO going anywhere. I hope that there are adjustments to the medical staff and procedures, but not much beyond that. Their first draft classes are just now making their way to the big leagues, so I do think that a full evaluation can start to be made now. Now that they are able to implement their full plan from the ground up, results will be expected.

Before the season, my biggest concern was the depth of the pitching and production of the younger players. And I believed that the season would go as the younger players did. The pitching blew through the depth that they did have, and then some as the injuries kept piling up. The younger players actually played pretty well, but then they fell to the same injury bug. I didn't expect this team to be all that competitive. I saw it as more of a bridge to next season while getting the next group of prospects MLB experience. I figured they'd end up with a win total in the upper 70s. That's probably about where they will end up, but in a much different manner of getting there. And they were more "competitive" much longer than I expected. With the lineups that they've had to trot out there, it's pretty obvious why they have faded away. The FO and coaching staff deserve some blame, but I don't know how anyone can reasonably expect them to be able to keep the ship upright with so much of the top end talent of the team on the IL. The medical staff and procedures do really need to get an full evaluation. Two years in a row with a squad decimated by injuries isn't a fluke anymore.

They may stack up fairly well in the rotation, but beyond that, I'm not as certain. Sure, shortening the bullpen down with an off day between each game helps considerably, but I'm not sold. And the bats, even if Polcano is healthy, Larnach and Buxton come back, can't produce runs consistently without the benefit of a home run. I'd absolutely love to be proven wrong, in fact I'd encourage it, but I'm not seeing any sort of October force to be worried about if I'm an opponent.

I rarely listen to the TV announcers...for any sport aside from golf. I do listen to the radio frequently enough and I like Provus. I don't mind Dazzle. But the vast majority of the time, the TV is muted and I've got music going on in the background. If I don't like what I'm hearing, I have only myself to blame!

The frustrating part about this is how much the FO really needed guys like these to play a role in the big league clubs season. Perhaps not a large role, but at least be there for depth. Particularly in the pitching department. Having a healthy Canterino and/or Balazovic added to the rotation or bullpen could have been huge given all of the injuries to the staff. Hopefully they'll all rebound for next season. Martin might not be as important as the other two, but you can never have too much talent.

St. Louis seems like a fitting place to end such a quest. The town bleeds red and loves their baseball. Hard not to get intoxicated by it. I haven't seen the new Busch, but was at the last iteration in 2001 over the 4th of July. I'm biased as a Cardinals fan, but the two games that I attended were as fun as I recall attending outside of playoff games. Pujols was even in LF for one of the games, which happened to be where we were sitting. Little did we know at the time what a legend we were witnessing. As for the Trop, buy a ticket, stand outside the gate, walk to Ferg's to get a bucket of beer and a burger and then head home. Save yourself the misery!

Awesome night for Gordon. Love seeing him play well after everything he endured on his way up. And he's playing well at the right time.

And a quick inning in the field to get the bats right back up. I like it!

Nah, that's why they added the extra active roster spot for this year.

He wouldn't have been in position to drive in 6 runs if they were swapped in the order.

Gordon having himself a day.

So...all of it then?

How much of the vinegar was bought as wine?

I'm a little surprised that MLB isn't making a bigger deal of the chase for 700. Easy marketing with a future HoFer chasing a huge ultra rare milestone.

Pujols hit 700. Good talker!

That's crazy! If only Biggio would have gotten a hit instead of Bichette getting two!

Or at least a glorified opener.

And the salt turns to hypertension and obesity?

Duck on the pond left by RBI Gordon...

Duck on the pond for RBI Gordon...

Beat me to it!

So convenient!

So, can I brush my teeth and scrub grout at the same time as long as I toss the brush after I'm done?

Baseball makes for good background noise for such things!

Good point! We don't want to crash the site. @Brock Beauchampwould be pissed!